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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24408841">Golden Girls Plus 2</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacobPhoenix34/pseuds/JacobPhoenix34'>JacobPhoenix34</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Golden Girls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:13:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,996</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24408841</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacobPhoenix34/pseuds/JacobPhoenix34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Summary: After an accident Andrew goes to live with his grandma and her friends.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Chapter One<br/>
Disclaimer: I don’t own the BtVS series or the Golden Girls series.</p><p> </p><p>Time line: Pre-BtVS and around Season 1 of Golden Girls.</p><p> </p><p>A/N: Andrew is 5 and Faith is 6 and a half years old</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 1</p><p> </p><p>Blanche Devereaux was beside herself with worry; this frantic call had her waiting by the door full of worry. She had a grandson that she didn’t know about, he was only four years old and he was coming to live here. </p><p>It had been a excitable couple of months when child services came by and dropped little Faith off and she was a beautiful a little girl, ‘She was a breath of fresh air for them and now,’ Blanche thought, they were getting a little boy: her grandson Andrew.</p><p>“Honey,” Dorothy said, “So you have to take care of a child. It won’t be hard as we’ll be with you; he’ll have three grandmothers and one great grandmother.”</p><p>“You have to say that,” Blanche pouted, “I could kick you and your little mama on the street.” </p><p>Sophia looked at her and shook her head, “You don’t see Dorothy getting all upset when Faith came here.”</p><p>“Ma,” Dorothy exclaimed, “Faith is living here and I would never think of myself as old because of the fact that I am a grandmother.”</p><p>“It’s different,” Blanche exclaimed, “My grandson is barely a baby himself and to lose his family at such a young age. We’re just lucky that Faith had been caught by the system early before but Andrew, he was in the car at the time.”</p><p>Rose shook her head and she said, “That poor child but we’ll help. After all, we’re all family and that makes Andrew our family.”</p><p>Dorothy smiled, “Then see if your sisters can take him in. But before you do, remember when you told me how you hate how distant you and your children are?”</p><p>She nodded and Dorothy smiled, “You see, your grandson is a second chance.” </p><p>Faith came out and whispered, “Grandma, is he here yet?”</p><p>“Not yet sweetheart,” Dorothy smiled, “He’s going to be here soon.” </p><p>“Umm,” Faith whispered quietly, “Is he going to be my little brother?”</p><p>“Yes Honey,” Dorothy smiled as she picked her granddaughter and hugged her closely, still remembering when she found her granddaughter. Her son was just lucky that Ma hadn’t been there with them. </p><p>Sophia yelled, “Faith, come and help Great Grandma with the cake to welcome your little brother.” </p><p>She wiggled out of Dorothy’s arms and ran in to help Sophia. </p><p>Rose sighed, “Blanche, it’s going to be fun; we get to be moms again. We’re given a second chance to be mommies.” </p><p>“You would be excited Betty Crocker,” Blanche snarked. </p><p>Blanche sat down wondering first, how she could be a momma again and what if she ruined her grandson’s life. </p><p>“I’m too old to be a momma,” Blanche said, “All my kids are grown up and now I have to take care of a little boy? I’ll be sixty five when he leaves for college.</p><p>“Not one word Ma,” Dorothy called as she saw Sophia coming out with Faith and some tea and a couple of cookies. </p><p>“Pussycat,” Sophia said, “I wasn’t going to say a thing and besides, the human mattress knows that I think of her as my daughter.” </p><p>“Grandma,” Faith asked, “Why does great grandma call Auntie Blanche a human mattress?” </p><p>“Oh, umm,” Sophia muttered, “C’mon Faith, let grandma teach you how to play poker,” and they walked away.</p><p>Rose smiled, “Don’t worry Dorothy, I’m sure Sophia won’t teach Faith what that word means.”</p><p>Dorothy sighed and was about to go after them when they heard the doorbell ring. Blanche whispered, “Dear god!! I’m not ready. Dorothy, answer the door.” </p><p>Faith rushed out ready to welcome her new little brother. As Dorothy opened the door she saw a man in a suit holding the hand of a little boy </p><p>The man smiled, “Hello is Mrs Devereaux here? I’ve brought her grandson here.” </p><p>Blanche yelled, “Dorothy, tell him to come in, I’m just putting my face on.” </p><p>Faith looked at the little boy standing close to the man and waved at him, she smiled when he gave a small wave back. </p><p>The man looked at Faith and said, “I wasn’t aware that you had another child here?”</p><p>Dorothy nodded, “This is Faith: my granddaughter, she was sent here about two months ago.” </p><p>“Hello Faith,” the man said, “Aren’t you a pretty, young lady.” </p><p>Faith smiled and tried to get close to the little boy but he hid behind the man’s leg. The man frowned a bit and said, “Please forgive him. Andrew lost his parents and older brother in a car crash in Los Angeles, he’s still in shock.” </p><p>“Oh, of course he is,” Sophia said as she brought out a batch of cookies, “You survive seeing your family killed like that and see if you’re ready to dance the night away?” </p><p>Andrew looked at the older woman and Sophia held out a cookie to him and he walked slowly towards her when he saw another lady walk in. </p><p>Blanche looked at Andrew and gasped; he looked just like Big Daddy when he was a little boy but she could see George in his eyes too and she knew what George would do: he would’ve taken Andrew in and made sure he was loved. She held her hands out and said, “Hello sweetie, I’m going to be your momma.” </p><p>The man smiled as Andrew looked at Blanche, he silently walked over to Sophia and took the cookie and began to eat. </p><p>Faith frowned and said, “What do you say?”</p><p>“Sorry,” Andrew whispered quietly. </p><p>“Oh,” Blanche said, “It’s only one time Faith and I’m sure Andrew just forgot.” </p><p>Andrew nodded and looked at Sophia and said, “Thank you miss.”</p><p>“Please,” Sophia said, “I’m family; you can call me great grandma too.” </p><p>Andrew smiled a bit and Faith took him to her room so they could play while the adults talked. </p><p>“So,” Blanche said, “His older brother, father and mother were all killed in this crash?”</p><p>“Yes,” the man said sadly, “Andrew only survived because of him being so small. The other’s deaths were instant so they didn’t suffer any pain.” </p><p>“Could you bring their bodies or ashes or whatever you did to them here? So they can be buried nearby, I won’t have my grandson going all the way to California to pay his respects,” Blanche said respectfully. </p><p>“Their bodies will be sent here for burial if you wish Ms Devereaux,” the man said, “And I must say that we were a bit concerned about sending him here to live when we found out your ages.” </p><p>The women gave him a glare and he held his hands up and said, “Sorry, we’re just concerned but your granddaughter seems to be well adjusted, so perhaps Andrew will be alright.” </p><p>They talked for a bit, the man smiled softly and said, “I have to go now, my plane leaves early tomorrow.” </p><p>Blanche nodded and walked in where Faith was playing with Andrew, Faith looked at her and said, “Auntie is Andrew staying?”</p><p>“Of course he is,” Blanche said, “What are we going to do, make him live on the streets?” </p><p>Andrew looked at Blanche and said, “Why haven’t I seen you before Grandma?” </p><p>“Oh baby Blanche said, “Your poppa and my family never saw eye to eye. It didn’t mean we didn’t love each other, it means.” </p><p>“You couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him,” Sophia said as she came and saw both of them playing.</p><p>“Exactly,” Blanche muttered, “Now you two, what are y’all playing with?” </p><p>Faith smiled, “I’m teaching Andrew how to use my easy bake oven.” </p><p>“Oh, that’s wonderful baby,” Blanche said, “Now Andrew, you and I are going clothes shopping tomorrow.” </p><p>Andrew nodded and went back to playing with Faith. </p><p>The four women watched the two children playing and decided that they would do their best to raise both kids well.</p><p> </p><p>A couple of months later Rose was teaching Andrew and Faith how to make some Norwegian dishes and telling them about her grandchildren in Saint Olaf. </p><p>“Oh yes,” Rose smiled, “Charlie Jr. is around your ages and you guys would love the farm and maybe you guys could visit one day.”</p><p>“Yes,” Sophia said, “If we wanted them to drop their IQ’s by at least twenty points.”</p><p>Rose frowned and suddenly broke out laughing, “Sophia, they’d love being on a farm for a bit with all the animals and we’d be there with them, right?”</p><p>“Which farm?” Sophia asked, “The funny farm?”</p><p>“No, one of my sisters married some young man in Iowa,” Rose said, “And they have some kids. I know because I always send them one of my herring cookies.” </p><p>Andrew made a bit of a face; he had tried one of those a couple of days after the man had brought him here to live. It was good but why did it have to look like fish?</p><p>Faith sat down looking at the cookies they made and tapped them, “Are they made from fish?”</p><p>“Oh no dear, these are sugar cookies in the shape of fish. I used to make real herring cookies for the cats in the neighbourhood,” Rose said. </p><p>“I remember that,” Sophia said, “Last time the cats got into a massive fight over the cookies and we had to sign some forms saying you wouldn’t do it again.” </p><p>Faith and Andrew rushed out to go play outside and Rose smiled, “It’s good to hear little feet in the house, isn’t it?”</p><p>Sophia shrugged, “It’s nice, I’m just glad we skipped the ugly parts, you know; diaper changing and midnight feedings.” </p><p>Rose laughed a bit and said, “Not me, I loved those bonding moments with my kids,” and began to chat about life in Saint Olaf. </p><p>Andrew ran being chased by Faith as Blanche came in and yelled, “Andrew Wells be careful, I don’t want you to get your knees scraped.” </p><p>“Alright Grandma,” Andrew yelled as Faith grabbed him and they started to play again. </p><p>Blanche came in and said, “Those two kids are good together. Now what are you doing Rose?”</p><p>“Making Herring cookies,” Rose said with a large smile. </p><p>“I thought the police asked us, after the cat incident, that we should refrain from leaving food out there?” Blanche said. </p><p>“No, it’s the sugar version,” Rose said happily, “Now, have some cookies.” </p><p>Blanche looked at the cookies and muttered, “I swear these cookies should be in those bakeries for pets, not being eaten by humans.” </p><p>Andrew rushed in followed by Faith and they sat down. Blanche smiled, “So what did y’all do today?”</p><p>“Auntie Rose taught us how to make herring cookies,” Andrew said smiling as he settled next to her and cuddled next to her. </p><p>“Were you a good boy for them?” Blanche said in her sternest voice. </p><p>“Oh honey,” Rose said, “Andrew and Faith are both very well behaved.” </p><p>Andrew cuddled against her and Blanche stroked his hair, ‘At least,’ she thought, ‘He was dealing alright, although Dorothy made me take him a therapist so he could talk about his parents and brother dying like that.’ </p><p>Blanche held him and she wondered vaguely what his brother was like. She hadn’t even known about Andrew or Tucker which made her even more upset that she had to find out when one of her grandbabies died in some awful car crash. </p><p>‘Yes,’ Blanche thought to herself, she was going to do right by Andrew. She wasn’t close to her children and she was woman enough to admit her own fault in raising her children and like Dorothy said: Andrew was her chance to do right by her baby girl’s son. </p><p>Andrew snuggled close to her and said, “I miss daddy and mommy and Tucker.” </p><p>Blanche nodded, “I miss them too and I wish I had a chance to know your big brother too.” </p><p>“Yes Grandma,” Andrew said softly. </p><p>‘God, I’m going to hate it when you go to school,’ Blanche thought, ‘And when you two become teenagers.’</p><p>Rose walked in and said, “Guess what guys? I’m going to visit my sister’s family in Iowa for a couple weeks and I was thinking; why don’t you guys come with me? My sister has some grandchildren who are a just a bit older than Faith and Andrew.” </p><p>They looked at each other and Sophia said, “So Rose, why haven’t we heard of this sister before?”</p><p>“Oh, mom and dad were a bit upset by her marrying an out of state man,” Rose said, “It was a horrible scandal.” </p><p>Sophia rubbed her head and said, “Rose does this story have a point or an end?”</p><p>Rose nodded, “It was just that mom and dad couldn’t keep in contact with her. We tried but for some reason it never worked out, I only got into contact with her because I wanted to get in contact with the rest of my family again.”</p><p> </p><p>TBC</p><p> </p><p>I’m doing this for a friend and I’ll explain how Faith came to live with them. How will be raised by the girls change both Andrew and Faith’s lives? About Rose’s family in Iowa, I’ll leave that for you to figure out who they are.</p><p> </p><p>this is a repost of an older story I did the only things I changed are the ages</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: Same as previous chapter.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 2</p><p> </p><p>Andrew looked around as they went on the airplane; Auntie Rose insisted that her sister’s grandchildren would love to play with them. At least the rest of them were heading to Iowa with him. </p><p>“Yes,” Rose said, “You’ll love them you guys,” as she looked at Andrew and Faith, “They’ll probably want to play with you.” </p><p>Blanche cuddled Andrew close to her and said, “Don’t worry if they don’t want to play with you Andrew, after all they have animals you can watch too.” </p><p>He nodded as he attempted to look out the window with Faith to try to see the ground until they finally got bored and started to eat the cookies the stewardess was passing out. </p><p>Sophia sighed, “At least I got to come with you this time.”</p><p>“Ma,” Dorothy said, “Don’t be like that, we take you on plenty of vacations.” </p><p>“Yeah, I’m just lucky that you leave water out for me,” Sophia muttered as she sat back to keep an eye on the kids.</p><p>“Shady Pines, Ma,” Dorothy said, “We can easily go back there.” </p><p>“What’s Shady Pines?” Faith asked confused, “And why was Great Grandma there?”</p><p>“Oh,” Sophia whispered, “Shady Pines is a horrible prison that your grandma put me in.” </p><p>“Ma, Shady Pines wasn’t that bad,” Dorothy sighed, “And you couldn’t be alone anymore due to your stroke.” </p><p>Andrew wondered why Grandma Sophia couldn’t be alone, she seemed alright but he didn’t understand half the things she said half the time and finished eating his cookie. </p><p>“It’s alright Andrew,” Faith said as she sat next to him, “Great Grandma Sophia is alright, I think. They told me that she’s alright.” </p><p>Blanche sighed, “So Rose, tell us about your sister and her grandkids? I mean I thought your family lived in Saint Olaf and/or Minnesota?” </p><p>“Oh yes,” Rose said, “She was never really happy in Saint Olaf or on the farm and she wanted more.” </p><p>“Why?” Dorothy said, “Was the town where they dress up like cans of tuna and jars of mayonnaise and parade down main not good for her?” </p><p>“Yes,” Rose said, “She kept saying that Saint Olaf was backwards and she was getting annoyed at our customs.” </p><p>Dorothy and Blanche looked at each other and wondered which customs annoyed her? Was it the ones where people dressed up like sandwiches or the festival of the dancing sturgeons? </p><p>“But anyways, she went to the big city in Iowa, Huxley and she met some farmer and settled down there.” </p><p>“Huxley, Iowa,” Dorothy said to herself, “The big city? And here I thought Des Moines was the big city, silly me.”</p><p>“Well,” Rose said, “Huxley was big compared to Saint Olaf, at least that’s what the family thought at the time and, like I said, all contact was lost for awhile. I decided life was too short so I wanted to reconnect with her again.” </p><p>Dorothy nodded and said, “Your sister does know we’re coming along, right?”</p><p>She nodded, “Oh yes, she’s very excited to meet all of you. Iris wants to know you guys.”</p><p>“Is every girl in your family named after a flower?” Dorothy asked confused, “I mean we’ve heard about Lily and your other sisters.”</p><p>“Yes, mom loved flowers and named all of us girls after flowers,” Rose smiled, “And daddy would sometimes bring the flowers we were named for from the field.” </p><p>Andrew went back to sleep as listening to the grownups talk was a bit boring. Blanche sighed, “Rose, what do you know of Iris’s grandchildren, are they decent?”</p><p>Rose nodded, “Yes, they are apparently. I really don’t know about them that well just that she had five kids; three boys and two girls. “All of which stayed around Huxley, well except for one of them, he’s in the army.”</p><p>“Well I’m just worried about Andrew is all,” Blanche said, “He’s probably not used to roughhousing with other boys as the only real child he plays with is Faith.” </p><p>“Blanche,” Dorothy exclaimed, “I’m sure Andrew will be fine, after all Faith is going to be there and she won’t let anyone hurt Andrew.” </p><p>“Can I hit them if they hit Andrew?” Faith asked, “Or no hitting?”</p><p>“Oh dear Faith,” Rose said, “A lady doesn’t hit or get into fights.”</p><p>“Umm, I’m not a lady yet, I’m a kid,” Faith said, “So does that excuse me from those rules?” </p><p>Sophia nodded, “It does make you exempt, just remember: no hitting below the belt unless you can get away with it.” </p><p>“Real great lesson Ma,” Dorothy said, “And what happens if Faith follows it?” </p><p>“Oh, then she blames it on the boy,” Sophia smiled as she patted Faith on the head. </p><p>Andrew was woken up by Blanche who whispered, “Honey, we’re here,” and they walked out followed by the others. Rose smiled as she saw Iris waiting by a couple of her grandchildren. </p><p>Iris hugged Rose tightly and said, “Rose, this is Riley and his friend Graham, they wanted to be here to meet you.” </p><p>Rose looked at them and said, “Hello Riley, I’m your auntie Rose and hello Graham, it’s very nice to meet you too.”</p><p>“And now,” Rose said, “This is Blanche and her grandson Andrew and Dorothy and her mother Sophia and granddaughter Faith.” </p><p>Graham and Riley looked at the other two kids and Graham waved at Andrew, while Riley gave a half hearted wave to them. </p><p>As they walked out to the car Andrew looked nervously at the two other boys; they were bigger than he was, they were bigger than Faith was too but she wasn’t afraid so he’d try to be brave too. </p><p>Graham sat next to Andrew in the car and tried to have a conversation with him but Andrew hid his face from the new kid. Blanche looked at him and said, “Dear, don’t worry. He’ll warm up to you soon, he’s just nervous around new people.”</p><p>“How old is he?” Riley asked as he looked at Andrew.</p><p>“Oh he’s just a baby, he’s only four years old,” Blanche said, “He’s not a big boy like you two.” </p><p>Riley turned back to asking questions to Rose as Blanche held Andrew and said, “Don’t worry Andrew, they seem like good boys.” </p><p>“Oh yes,” Iris said, “They’re almost inseparable as Graham is almost always at Riley’s house. I have them for the month as both of their parents are out visiting some relatives otherwise they would definitely be visiting with you too.”</p><p>Blanche smiled, “It’s actually nice of you to take in your grandson’s friend like that.” </p><p>“Yes,” Iris smiled, “But Graham is such a well behaved boy and I love having him over when I can,” and she pointed out her house as they were coming up to it. </p><p>Rose looked at Iris’s house and said, “Oh, its beautiful Iris.” </p><p>“Thank you Rose,” Iris smiled, “It means a lot to me to have you come and visit like this, we have to do it more often.”</p><p>As they walked around the house that Iris was showing them around Andrew was sitting down in the living room looking around a bit, he didn’t want to get in the way of the tour as he was still kind of tired from the plane trip and he wanted to sleep for a bit. Graham came up with Riley and he said, “You wanna play with us?”</p><p>Andrew shook his head and rested his head on the pillow and quickly fell asleep, he was so exhausted by the trip. Blanche came over and saw him curled up on the couch and sighed, ‘He was going to be awake all night if he slept all day,’ she shook him awake. </p><p>“Grandma,” he said quietly, “I’m tired.” </p><p>“Oh I know sweetie but if you’re going to sleep all day then you aren’t going to be able to sleep tonight Andrew, so why don’t you go and play with Riley, Graham and Faith. You can bet they’re going to have fun today.”</p><p>Andrew nodded and walked outside with his grandmother holding his hand, looking for the boys and Faith. </p><p>“There they are,” Blanche said as she pushed Andrew to them and said, “Have some fun Andrew.” </p><p>Graham ran up to him and said, “You wanna catch frogs with me and Riley? It’s going to be fun.” Andrew nodded and Graham pulled Andrew to where he and Riley were catching frogs while Faith looked irritated. </p><p>Riley watched Andrew put his hands in the warm pond water and heard Graham tell him how to catch frogs, no way was the little kid going pull out more frogs then he was. </p><p>Faith muttered, “Frogs, why would they want a smelly old frog?” Though she did like frogs too, she watched Riley suddenly snap his arm into the water and pulled out an old log, he frowned a bit. </p><p>Graham shook his head, “No Riley, you don’t do it like that, you’ll scare the rest of the frogs.” </p><p>Andrew was splashing the water gently and suddenly felt something brush by his hand, he grabbed it and pulled whatever it was out and saw a turtle. </p><p>Riley looked stunned, ‘There were turtles in Grandma Iris’s pond?’ He frowned and shoved his hands into the water looking for a turtle for himself; it was just pure luck Andrew found the turtle. </p><p>Andrew held it out to Faith who took it and put in the bucket they had brought for the frogs, she looked at the turtle move around in the bucket and shook her head, maybe Andrew would let her have it?</p><p>Graham looked around at Riley shoving his hands into the water looking for turtles and frogs; he shook his head and said, “Riley, you’re going to scare them away.” </p><p>Riley sighed, “Graham, I want a turtle too and plus, it’s embarrassing. I should’ve caught it not Andrew, I’m older.” </p><p>Faith tapped the turtle on the back of its shell and Andrew was watching her play with it, he smiled a bit and said, “Do you want it?”</p><p>She nodded, “You think grandma and Auntie Blanche would let it me keep it?”</p><p>Andrew giggled a bit and said, “Not sure, she lets Auntie Rose bring home those doggies and kitties, right?”</p><p>Faith gave a giggle and they both touched the turtle on its back, causing it to hide its face. </p><p>Riley yelled, “Andrew, stop playing with the turtle and help us catch frogs.” </p><p>Andrew rushed back and Graham began to pull out frogs while Riley looked for more turtles, he was getting a bit irritated that he couldn’t find any though he was glad about all the frogs he was finding though he wanted that turtle he wanted to impress his grandma with it. But he supposed his grandma would love it more if he caught one himself and not take it from a little kid. </p><p>As Faith put the frogs Andrew grabbed in the bucket she wondered vaguely, ‘What did turtles eat?’ </p><p>After a couple of hours of catching everything that squirmed in the pond they headed back to the home. </p><p>Blanche smiled as they walked up and saw the bucket and said, “Were you boys picking berries?” </p><p>“No ma’am,” Riley said, “Catching frogs and Andrew caught a turtle, it’s in the bucket.</p><p>She frowned a bit as she looked in and saw the turtle with about twenty hopping frogs. She cringed a bit at the frogs hopping around and croaking but she wouldn’t give them hell, boys will be boys. She’d be concerned if they came back with rattlers or some such nasty reptile. </p><p>“Auntie Blanche, can I keep the turtle?” Faith asked, “Andrew said it’d be alright with him even if he caught it.”</p><p>Andrew nodded and Blanche knew she had think fast or they’d have that nasty old thing in her house for years to come. </p><p>“Honey, don’t you think the turtle would be happier being in the pond with its family?” Blanche said hopefully. </p><p>“What’s the difference between it and the kitties and puppies Auntie Rose brings in?” Andrew asked. </p><p>“The difference is,” Blanche said, “Those puppies and kitties are cute and cuddly and they like to live with humans.” </p><p>Andrew picked up the turtle and looked at it as it stuck its head back inside its shell and said, “It doesn’t look like it wants to go back grandma.” </p><p>“Oh I suppose, let’s keep it for a bit and find out how it acts,” Blanche sighed. </p><p>“If you guys can’t have it,” Riley said, “I can keep it.” </p><p>Blanche nodded, she would find some reason to get rid of the creature and shuddered at the frogs which were croaking and hopping around in the bucket. “Good god,” she muttered as a frog attempted to hop on her. </p><p>“If you want to tomorrow Andrew,” Graham said, “I know where there’s a whole nest of garter snakes.”</p><p>Blanche shuddered again, ‘Snakes? Sweet Jesus, this boy was going to make sure a snake ate my grandson.’ She looked at Andrew and said, “You be careful with hunting those snakes.” </p><p>Andrew looked at Blanche and said, “Can I go with Graham tomorrow Grandma?”</p><p>“I suppose,” Blanche said, “But,” she narrowed her eyes, “You take good care of my grandson, alright?”</p><p>Faith smiled, “I’ll go snake hunting with Andrew besides, I want to bring back Grandma a snake.”</p><p>Dorothy looked up and said, “Honey, don’t bother. I was married to a snake for thirty eight years; to have another one would just be redundant.” </p><p>They looked at each other and Faith thought, “Grandma was married to a snake? Did Grandpa Stan know?”</p><p>Iris came in with a plate of snacks and said, “Riley Finn, Graham Miller, you take those awful things outside. I don’t want them inside my house.” </p><p>“Thank you merciful god,” Blanche whispered. </p><p>“But Grandma,” Riley said, “We caught a turtle this time.” </p><p>She sighed and looked in the pail and saw a turtle swimming around in the water and nodded, “So you did.” </p><p>Sophia looked in and said, “Nice, frog legs tonight. Someone hand me a knife.” </p><p>“Ma,” Dorothy yelled, “We aren’t eating them, the kids caught them in the pond and they want to keep them as pets.” </p><p>She shrugged and said, “Keep them as pets? Why would you keep them as pets? They live for about four days and we’re stuck explaining why we’re flushing them down the toilet.”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter,” Rose said as she walked out, “We’re going to let them go, right kids? You can keep them for the night but then they have to go back.” </p><p>“Can I at least keep the turtle?” Faith asked, “I mean Andrew caught it and said I could keep it.”</p><p>“We’ll talk about it later,” Dorothy said, “Right now its dinnertime.” </p><p>As they ate they were discussing the sleeping options and Blanche smiled, “Well, Andrew and Faith share their room at home so they wouldn’t mind sharing a bed.” </p><p>Iris smiled, “Why doesn’t Andrew share Riley and Graham’s room? That way he can he get to know them better.” </p><p>“Oh I’m not sure about that,” Blanche said to Iris, “Andrew is a very nervous boy, he might not like some change like that.” </p><p>Andrew shook his head, “I can try it grandma, it’s only for a little while, right?”</p><p>“Yes,” Iris said, “I placed a sleeping blanket and a pillow down for you; it’ll be just like a camping trip.”</p><p> </p><p>TBC </p><p> </p><p>A/N: Tomorrow I’ll finish up Andrew’s stay with Rose’s family and I’ll ask for your ideas about pairings for both Faith and Andrew but keep in mind I have my ideas too.</p><p>How do you want the snake hunt to go? Do you want Andrew and Faith to appear in Sunnydale?</p><p> </p><p>Please rate and review.</p>
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<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 3</p><p> </p><p>Andrew was curled up in his sleeping blanket, missing his bed in Miami. He could hear the other two boys snoring and thought that Riley was really loud, too loud for his taste. He turned around and tried to get comfortable but he just couldn’t get comfy and he was really trying. </p><p>Graham looked down and saw Andrew trying to get comfortable and whispered, “You wanna sleep on the bed? I can sleep on the floor,” Andrew nodded and crawled into the bed while Graham crawled on to the floor. </p><p>Riley yawned and looked at Graham and muttered, “Why did you switch with the baby? You can’t sleep on the floor that good either.” </p><p>“Just felt bad for him,” Graham said as he went to sleep, Riley shrugged and went back to sleep. </p><p>Andrew felt a bit better now that he could sleep, he liked it on Auntie Rose’s sister’s farm as it was nice and quiet but he liked Grandma’s home better. </p><p>The next day Andrew was being shaken awake by Graham who whispered, “Andrew, it’s time to go snake hunting. You gonna come with me and Riley?” Andrew nodded and put on his shorts and a shirt and walked out and saw Faith waiting for them. </p><p>Faith giggled and said, “Andrew, you slept in today, you missed breakfast.” </p><p>Andrew looked pale, he didn’t like to miss a meal when Riley pulled him out saying, “I brought apples and Grandma packed us some lunches,” and he dragged them out. </p><p>“Jeez,” Faith muttered, “He’s bossy, isn’t he?”</p><p>Graham laughed a bit, “He’s alright, he’s just eager to get going.” </p><p>As they tromped through the fields Faith wondered what were they going to do when they caught the snakes, she was almost sure that Grandma wouldn’t want the snakes they caught but she was sure they would be proud. </p><p>“So what kind of snakes are we getting?” Faith asked, “It’s not the ones with the things on their tales are they?”</p><p>“No,” Riley frowned, “Not those kinds of snakes.” </p><p>“He’s afraid of them,” Graham whispered to Andrew, causing Andrew to giggle a bit. </p><p>“Am not,” Riley called, “Just worried about grandma, Iris is all ‘Rattlers are dangerous.’” </p><p>They walked through a small bit of bushes and Riley smiled, “It looks good here,” and he sat down on the dirt relaxing. </p><p>Graham nodded, ‘At least they weren’t near where the other guys were,’ he thought. </p><p>Faith stretched out and smiled, “Its nice here.” </p><p>“Yeah,” Riley said, “I’m thinking of building a fort here with Graham one of these days.”</p><p>Graham nodded, “It’s really nice here; there’s a river down the way too and it’s not too bad to stay here.” </p><p>Riley smiled, “C’mon Faith, let’s go catch snakes together. Bet we could catch more than Graham and Andrew, what do you think?” </p><p>She looked back at Andrew and decided that he would be safe with Graham and nodded as she and Riley ran out of the little clearing. </p><p>“Come on,” Graham whispered, “It’s time for us to go hunting snakes too, Riley’s going to scare most of them away,” and grabbed Andrew’s arm and walked in a different direction. </p><p>As they walked slowly through the field Graham kept his hand on Andrew’s hand tightly, he promised Blanche that he would keep him safe and he was the older boy so he was in charge. </p><p>Graham looked at the pail Andrew was holding and whispered, “See Andrew, in the grass? There’s a snake.” </p><p>Andrew looked out as the snake came out of the grass, its tiny forked tongue flitting out of its mouth. Graham frowned, it wasn’t a garter snake it was another type but it wasn’t a rattler, they weren’t here that often. </p><p>“Stay behind me Andrew,” Graham commanded as he looked at the snake which looked back at him and Andrew stared at it. The snake stared back at them and Graham suddenly grabbed the pail and placed it over the snake and managed to lift it up, catching the snake. </p><p>“Yes!!” Graham said, “This is going to make Riley so jealous that we caught a snake that he’s probably never seen before.”</p><p>Andrew sat down looking in the bucket as the snake slithered around in the pail looking for a way out. </p><p>“Umm, are we going to keep it?” Andrew asked as he looked at it. </p><p>“Yeah,” Graham said, “I love snakes and reptiles, so does Riley but he only catches them to put in his house to scare his mommy.” </p><p>As they moved through the grass Andrew yawned and said, “Thank you for letting me use the bed, the floor wasn’t soft.”</p><p>Graham smiled and nodded, “Come on, I wanna beat Riley at snake catching for once. He may scare them away but he usually chases them into his pail.” </p><p>Andrew nodded and they spent the morning catching snakes, the prize was when Andrew managed to catch a black snake that curled around his arm and tickled his arm with its tongue and they tossed it into the bucket. As they headed back to the small patch of bushes to go rest and eat lunch and as they walked into clearing they saw Faith waiting for them. </p><p>Faith rushed over and said, “We caught so many snakes,” as she showed their pail to them. </p><p>“Yeah,” Graham said, “We caught a couple of pretty snakes,” and showed them the brightly coloured snake and the black one Andrew had caught. </p><p>Riley looked a bit annoyed but smiled, “You catch any of the garters like we did? I bet we caught a hundred.” </p><p>Andrew looked in the pail and saw the snakes moving around in the pail and it almost did look like a hundred. </p><p>Faith pulled out the sandwiches and the juice, Andrew picked at his sandwich while Riley messily ate his. He looked a bit sheepish and said, “Sorry, usually it’s just me and Graham out here.”</p><p>“So,” Graham said, “What are we going to do for the rest of the day? I mean we caught snakes, right?”</p><p>“We could go swim in the pond,” Riley said, “It’s getting warm.” </p><p>“Andrew can’t swim,” Faith said, “Aunt Blanche wants him to learn.” </p><p>As they headed back to the house holding their buckets Blanche muttered, “Merciful god!!” as she saw them holding huge pails, she looked at Sophia and said, “Do you think there’s snakes in those buckets?” </p><p>Sophia shrugged, walked out and looked in their buckets. She walked back in and said, “If those aren’t snakes then they caught eels and if those are eels, I know a recipe for pie.” </p><p>Blanche muttered, “Dear god, all those snakes and you gotta know they want to keep every nasty old snake.” </p><p>“At least we won’t have mice if they bring them back to Miami,” Sophia smiled as she walked back inside to watch TV. </p><p>Andrew ran over and showed Blanche all the snakes he and Graham caught; she looked horrified as her grandson was holding a bucket with some big ole nasty, squirming snakes. She saw Andrew put his hand in and quickly pulled it away. </p><p>“No Andrew,” Blanche said, “Those snakes are just waiting to get their sharp little teeth in you.” </p><p>“Not this one,” Andrew said as he showed her the biggest, nastiest looking snake she had ever seen. It curled around Andrew’s arm, sticking its forked tongue in and out.</p><p>“Oh sweet Jesus!!” Blanche said as the snake crawled up towards Andrew’s fingers. </p><p>Dorothy walked out and saw Andrew holding a nasty looking black snake; she shook her head and said, “Blanche, that’s actually a harmless snake.” </p><p>“But look at it,” Blanche exclaimed, “It’s gonna bite Andrew and poison him.” </p><p>“No because I know that the snake is harmless because I had to teach a class on them for biology. It’s the Eastern Kingsnake: they eat rattlesnakes among other things. One of the kids had one; it was friendly though of course it slithered right towards me.” </p><p>“So you mean this thing don’t have no poison in it?” Blanche said as she watched it a bit suspiciously. </p><p>“It’s completely harmless honey,” Dorothy said, as Blanche calmed down she walked to make sure Faith was alright. </p><p>Andrew looked at Blanche and asked, “Can I keep him? I think he likes me.</p><p>She saw how happy Andrew was and it wasn’t like he was asking for the keys to the car, hell he barely asked for anything but not this snake, it was just plain creepy. </p><p>“How about this sugar,” Blanche said, “You let the snake go and I’ll see about getting you two kids a couple of kittens or puppies, little boys like puppies, right?”</p><p>Andrew nodded, “I guess I could leave him with Graham or Riley.” </p><p>‘Thank you merciful god!!’ Blanche thought, ‘But now I have to get them some pets though,’ she thought, ‘It wouldn’t be that bad: a little kitty for Faith and a puppy for Andrew maybe.’ </p><p>He ran out and told Riley and Graham. Riley looked at the black snake and said, “I’ll take him.”</p><p>Graham shook his head and said, “Andrew and I caught him so I’ll take him.” </p><p>Riley sighed and said, “Then Andrew and I can find another one tomorrow or maybe some turtles, right Andrew?” </p><p>“Can’t you two go berry pickin or something like that?” Blanche said almost upset, “Instead of bringing these nasty old creatures back.” </p><p>“I suppose we could,” Riley said, “We could do that before supper.” </p><p>“Good, now get rid of those nasty creatures, just make sure they aren’t able to find their way back to us,” Blanche said as they left. </p><p>Iris smiled and said, “Sorry, they’re both going to drag him everywhere now.”</p><p> </p><p>As Andrew was being dragged out by Graham and Riley he looked at Faith and said, “You coming with us?”</p><p>Faith shook her head and said, “Sleepy, I want a nap.” </p><p>Andrew nodded as he tromped after them and Faith went up to bed, hoping Andrew would be alright without her. </p><p>As he dashed after Riley and Graham, Andrew heard Riley say, “Why didn’t Andrew’s grandma want to keep the snakes?”</p><p>Graham shrugged, “Maybe they didn’t like snakes?” </p><p>Riley nodded, “Because they’re girls and they don’t like cool things like snakes and turtles. I feel bad for you, living with nothing but girls.” </p><p>“Why?” Andrew tried to demand. </p><p>“Because you’re gonna end being a wimp if you don’t have a brother or father,” Riley said as he walked towards some bushes and emptied the snake pail, “Though Faith is almost like a boy so I guess she’s cool.” </p><p>Graham shook his head and said I live with my mom Andrew, my daddy died when I was little.” </p><p>Andrew nodded, “I live with Grandma because my mommy, daddy and big brother died.” </p><p>“Oh,” Graham said his head low, “That’s bad but at least you got your grandma, right?”</p><p>He nodded and followed them, Andrew looked at the big berry patch and said, “Here we go, this place has a lot of those raspberries.” </p><p>“Yeah,” Riley said, “That’s probably what your grandma wants; maybe she’ll help my Grandma make muffins as she uses the berries in them. But don’t pick these sour green ones, my grandma likes them for some reason even though they’re sour, only the red ones.” </p><p>Andrew looked at the green berries and picked one and ate it, he made a face; it was sour but it wasn’t a bad sour. He looked at Graham and asked, “Why are the two berries together here anyways?” </p><p>Graham shrugged, “They’ve always been here, not sure why.”</p><p> </p><p>After an hour they came back with a full pail and a half, Andrew looked at the berries and said, “I thought we picked more?” </p><p>“We did,” Graham said, “But Riley eats a bit too.” </p><p>“Hey,” Riley yelled, “I still have plenty of berries and besides, Grandma only needs some of them and the berries are good.” </p><p>Andrew giggled a bit as they finally got back and Blanche looked at Andrew with his red stained fingers and dirty clothes, she smiled, “It’s happened at last; my grandson has become a little boy.” </p><p>Blanche looked at Andrew, who was reaching out for her and sighed, “Bath time,” and picked him up. </p><p>Faith came downstairs and said, “Andrew, you got dirty?” </p><p>Andrew nodded as he was being carried upstairs, Blanche smiled, “Pay it no mind; little boys should get dirty once in a while. It’s natural as the sun setting.”</p><p> </p><p>TBC</p><p> </p><p>Next chapter Faith and Andrew will be back in Miami for their first day in school, any ideas on how that will go? Still looking for pairings for Faith and Andrew, I have heard a few of them but it’s still in the air. How do you like the snake catching?</p><p> </p><p>Please rate and review.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 4</p><p> </p><p>The rest of the week at Iris’s place was fun: Andrew learned how Iris made her muffins and helped her make them while Faith and the others went out picking more of the raspberries, he would play with Graham and Riley for a bit each day too. </p><p>On the day they were leaving Andrew waved goodbye to them and Riley almost looked disappointed that they were leaving and so did Graham, who looked really disappointed that both Andrew and Faith were leaving. </p><p>Blanche smiled, “Don’t worry you two, I’m sure we’ll come again one day and besides, your Auntie Rose noticed how you were getting attached your new little friends so she gave them our mailing address and if they wanna write us they can.” </p><p>The months passed by slowly and Andrew began to be aware that his grandma and adoptive great aunts were getting busy for something; he walked over to Dorothy and asked her what was going on? </p><p>Dorothy smiled and said, “For school sweetie, you and Faith are going to be going this autumn and you are going to have so much fun Honey; you’re going to meet new friends, learn new things and it’s going to prepare you for the world.” </p><p>“And,” Blanche said, “It’s a good excuse for us to take you shopping for clothes honey, so you look nice for your first day at school.”</p><p>Andrew was getting excited, it was his first day of school; Auntie Dorothy told him he was going to have so much fun at school, he wasn’t sure about that but Faith was going to be there with him. He was going to look his best as Blanche took him to the store and bought him some nice clothes for his first day. </p><p>Faith smiled as they were getting ready for bed, “Don’t worry Andrew,” she said proudly, “No one hurt’s my brother and I’ll protect you, so just stick by me tomorrow.” </p><p>The next morning after breakfast, Andrew and Faith got dressed for school. Blanche looked as Andrew and Faith left and wiped a tear from her eye, she couldn’t believe that Andrew was already on his first day of school and she felt so damned old, she didn’t want that but as she saw Andrew and Faith standing outside waiting for the school bus. </p><p>She smiled, he looked so presentable in his little backpack and suit, she wanted him to make a good impression on people. </p><p>Sophia smiled and said, “He’s going to get beaten up looking like that.” </p><p>“Ma!!” Dorothy exclaimed, “That’s no way to talk. I happen to think he looks very nice but nevertheless I’m glad we got pictures of him before he gets beaten up.” </p><p>Blanche wrung her hands together and said, “He’s just a baby, he shouldn’t have to go to school.” </p><p>“He’s five years old,” Dorothy said, “He has to have an education.” </p><p>“I just wish he didn’t have to go so far away,” Blanche said, “What if he needs me?” </p><p>“We all went through this with our children,” Rose said, “You had to this with your children, right?”</p><p>“It’s different,” Blanche whispered, “He’s just so small, I mean he’s my baby and I am ashamed to admit that we weren’t close but I will do right by Andrew.” </p><p>“I feel that way with Faith,” Dorothy said softly, “And I must admit that I love Andrew like my own.” </p><p>“I just wish I knew them earlier,” Blanche said, “I mean as it is we don’t have any baby pictures of him.”</p><p> </p><p>Meanwhile Andrew was on the bus with Faith and he looked around warily, he was a bit nervous of this new thing and Grandma seemed so upset when he left, he hadn’t any idea why though. </p><p>Faith nodded, she was a bit nervous about going to a new school as well. “Don’t worry Andrew,” she said, “It’s going to be fun and I’ll be with you, Grandma Dorothy said it’d be fun.”</p><p>“Why was Grandma Blanche crying though?” Andrew asked, “It was weird, why was she so upset?” </p><p>“Maybe she’ll miss us,” Faith said, “She’ll miss you.” </p><p>Andrew sighed, “I wish I didn’t have to dress up like this but Grandma insisted.” </p><p>“It doesn’t look too bad,” Faith said as they got off the bus, “Maybe you can dress normal tomorrow.” </p><p>As they walked to their class Andrew wondered what school was like; Auntie Dorothy kept insisting it was going to be fun and Grandma Blanche insisted he would find other little boys to play with. He was sure he wouldn’t have that much fun as he did when they had on Auntie Rose’s sister’s farm. </p><p>Andrew sat close to Faith during the class and he looked at the toys in the boxes. He was a bit uneasy when they had to introduce each other but he felt Faith’s hand around his. </p><p>After that Andrew was sitting with Faith when a boy came to him and said, “You wanna play with me?”</p><p>“No thanks,” Andrew said as he went next to Faith, “I’m staying near my sister.” </p><p>The boy muttered, “Wimp, playing with girls,” and ran off. </p><p>Faith glared at the boy and said, “You’re not a wimp, Graham said you caught all those snakes, remember?” </p><p>Andrew nodded; he honestly didn’t see a problem with playing with girls. </p><p>As they were playing with the blocks Andrew was building a little town and Faith started to build with him, she had no idea what he was building but it was fun. </p><p>“What are you building Andrew?” Faith asked, “It looks neat.” </p><p>“A town,” Andrew said simply, “It’s from where I used to live before I came to live with Grandma Blanche but I don’t remember that much.” </p><p>Faith shrugged, “I’m sure you’ll remember soon and besides Andrew, we’re lucky to have both of our Grandmas. I wasn’t in a good place before Grandma Dorothy took me in.” </p><p>Andrew looked at her and asked, “How was it a bad place?”</p><p>“Oh, mommy and daddy never liked each other and they called each other bad words and eventually, one day some ladies came and took me to meet Grandma Dorothy,” Faith said, “And Grandma took me to live with her.” </p><p>“When did that happen?” Andrew asked, “I mean you were there before I got here, right?”</p><p>Faith nodded, “A long time. I was happy when you came here; I mean you’re my little brother when Auntie Blanche found out about you. She was worried and she spent several nights crying.” </p><p>Andrew sobbed a bit; he didn’t want to make his grandma cry, ever. </p><p>When Faith saw that she said, “No, she was crying over you; she was upset that you’re mommy and daddy, along with your big brother, died and she didn’t even know about you.” </p><p>“I don’t know why, Tucker and I never knew about Grandma Blanche, we only knew about Grandma Wells but she died before we’re born,” Andrew said. </p><p>Faith nodded and said, “Come on, let’s play Andrew.” </p><p>Andrew smiled as he began to play with the blocks again; he was showing Faith the town he built when the other boy suddenly rushed over and kicked the town down. </p><p>“Hey!!” Faith said, “That’s not nice Nick.”</p><p>Nick shrugged and said, “The baby shouldn’t be playing with girls, he should be playing with us.” </p><p>“Hmmph,” Faith snorted, “Maybe if you’re acting like that he should play with girls, not jerks like you.” </p><p>“Please, you know we’re fun to play with,” Nick sneered, “But you play with the baby.” </p><p>Faith shook her head and went back to help Andrew rebuild his town, “Why did he knock my town over?” Andrew asked confused and just a bit upset. </p><p>“Oh, he’s a jerk. Auntie Rose says there are people like that everywhere,” Faith said as she placed some of the wooden blocks on top of each other.</p><p>“But why is he calling me a baby?” Andrew asked, “Does he not like me? </p><p>“Grandma says jerks don’t need a reason to be jerks,” Faith said, “So don’t worry about the jerks and I’m sure we’ll meet some nice kids sooner or later.” </p><p>Andrew nodded as he placed some more blocks on a tower he was making and smiled a bit, its back to normal. </p><p>After school Andrew was heading to the bus with Faith when Nick suddenly pushed him over causing him to scrape his knee and Nick laughed, “You going to cry baby?”</p><p>Faith shook her head and suddenly slammed her fist into Nick’s face and said, “Leave my brother alone.” </p><p>Nick felt his face and suddenly ran away bawling as Faith looked on disgusted. She pulled Andrew up and Andrew whispered, “Faith, you’re going to get into to trouble with your grandma.” </p><p>“No I won’t,” Faith said, “She’ll be happy that I stood up for my little brother,” and as they walked out Andrew was still worried that Faith would get into trouble.</p><p> </p><p>When they got home Blanche ran over and hugged them, she suddenly frowned and said, “Andrew, what happened to your nice new pants?” </p><p>“Umm, some bigger boy pushed me Grandma,” Andrew said in a small voice. </p><p>“Hmmph,” Blanche said, “Did y’all tell a teacher? That’s the only way to deal with bullies like that.” </p><p>“No,” Faith said, “I punched him, but before you get mad he also called Andrew names and wrecked his blocks.” </p><p>Blanche shook her head and said, “Faith, I’m proud of you for sticking up for your brother but sometimes fists only lead to more trouble.” </p><p>Andrew whispered, “Please grandma don’t be mad with Faith, she was trying to help me. I don’t want her to be in trouble because of me.” </p><p>“Don’t worry,” Blanche said, “Faith’s not in trouble, I’m happy that she protected you. The only one who’s going to be in trouble is that other boy’s parents and the school for not stopping it when it happened.” </p><p>Andrew sighed with relief, he really didn’t want to get Faith into trouble because he told on the other boy and maybe it would stop. </p><p>“But anyways baby,” Blanche said, “How was your first day at school?”</p><p>“It was good,” Andrew said as he sat down, “Fun and maybe I’ll make some new friends one day.” </p><p>“Good, now you take your pants off so I can take a look at that knee.” </p><p>Andrew showed her his knee and winced as Blanche began to clean his knee with anti septic cleaner. She smiled, “Good boy Andrew, for not crying,” as she finished cleaning him.</p><p>Sophia saw Andrew run past her and she shook her head, “Did he get beaten up?”</p><p>“Yes,” Blanche said, “I’m going to talk to the school about that tomorrow.” </p><p>“And you aren’t afraid that you won’t make it worse for him?” Sophia said, “I mean I never got that involved with my kids when they grew up and they turned out fine.”</p><p>“Isn’t one of your children a cross dresser?” Blanche said with a smirk. </p><p>“Yes, Phil. But it’s my fault, we dressed him in Dorothy’s old hand me downs, how was I to know he’d take to it?” Sophia said, “But anyways, what happened with Andrew?”</p><p>“Oh some little thug pushed him down and before that he broke something Andrew was building with blocks,” Blanche said a bit bitterly, “But Faith punched him and he ran out crying.”</p><p>“Good girl,” Sophia said, “For sticking up for her little brother, but she probably destroyed his credit on the playground.” </p><p>“Dear me!!” Blanche said, “I’ve never thought of that before, what if some more of these little thugs tries to pick fights with him?” </p><p>“Take him to one of those oriental fighting classes,” Sophia said, “That way he can defend himself. Or teach him to box.” </p><p>“I will not have him be some little brute that believes only through violence,” Blanche said angrily. </p><p>“No, there’s a difference between defending yourself and going around looking for fights,” Sophia said, “And hey, I know people who can teach him how to box and we can take Faith to those classes too, they think they’re family so they can take the lessons together as family.” </p><p>“What about Dorothy?” Blanche said, “Will she let Faith go to these classes?”</p><p>Sophia shrugged, “They’ll be fine, it will teach them how to be self confidant and next time someone thinks Andrew or Faith are targets and they’ll run away crying to mommy.” </p><p>“Yes,” Blanche said, “And mommy comes to me, telling me that my grandson is a little thug.”</p><p> </p><p>In his room Andrew got out of the suit he was wearing and into his T shirt and shorts and ran out to the pool so he could go swimming when he saw his grandmother come out. </p><p>She watched him and Faith playing in the water, she almost wished he could be this sweet innocent age forever but she knew that she couldn’t stop either of them from growing up. She walked over and said, “Andrew, Faith, can you can come over here?”</p><p>“Now you two,” Blanche said, “I’m very concerned about you getting picked out on Andrew and I am beyond proud of the fact that you protected your brother Faith but violence is never the answer.” </p><p>Faith nodded and Blanche smiled, “So I’m going to ask your grandma about us sending you to self defence courses so you know about how to defend yourselves without hurting people too badly, would that be fun?”</p><p>They nodded and Blanche smiled, “We’ll talk it over with your grandmother.” </p><p> </p><p>TBC</p><p> </p><p>What do you think of Andrew and Faith taking self defence lessons? Did you like how Faith defended Andrew? Next up is their first Christmas and maybe Andrew's birthday. Should Andrew and Faith get a puppy or a kitten or some other type of pet? What do you think of thier first day of school?</p><p> </p><p>Please rate and review.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Disclaimer: Same as previous chapters.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 5</p><p> </p><p>The next few months Andrew and Faith were both enrolled at self defence classes and Sophia had taken Andrew and Faith to a friend of hers at the senior center to begin his training in boxing lessons, her friend was eighty years old but she figured Andrew could handle that and besides both would need naps in the afternoon. </p><p>Nick wouldn’t leave Andrew alone for playing with girls; one day he even challenged him to a fight to prove he was tough. But Andrew remembered one of the lessons Uncle Ricky told him: only cowards fought to prove to others that they were tough and Andrew refused to fight to prove to them that he was tough. </p><p>After that Andrew had made friends with other boys who didn’t mind playing with girls and eventually even Nick was starting to become his friend, only because he wanted to find out why Andrew wouldn’t fight him. </p><p>A month later on his birthday Andrew and Faith were at the pet shelter looking some pets, both of their grandmothers thought that this would be a good way for them to learn responsibility on their own. </p><p>They ran down the kennels and Faith saw a dark puppy that looked at her with wide sad eyes, she pointed to it and said to Dorothy, “I want this one grandma.” </p><p>Dorothy looked at the Rottweiler and sighed, “You had to get one that will one day be bigger and heavier than your great grandmother,” Faith nodded and Dorothy sighed and showed Blanche.</p><p>“Oh God,” Blanche murmured, “Look at it, how big is that little monster going to be when it grows up?” </p><p>“Look at the bright side,” Dorothy whispered, “We’ll never have to worry about burglars again.” </p><p>Blanche nodded when Andrew screamed, “Grandma, I want this one,” and pointed at a small white kitten that looked like a curled snow ball with blue eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Andrew was getting excited as it was going to be Christmas soon, he and Faith were trying to be good and Grandma kept saying that they were getting a surprise in a little bit.</p><p>He ran throughout the house and saw Faith playing with the puppy. </p><p>The small puppy ran over to Andrew and started to slobber over him, causing him to giggle. </p><p>Faith sat down and pulled the puppy next to her, he gave a grin to her and said, “So you know what the surprise in Faith?”</p><p>“No,” Faith muttered, “And Great Grandma Sophia isn’t telling either; she kept telling me that we have to be patient.” </p><p>Andrew picked up the small mewling kitten that Rose had brought him when she brought the puppy in and cuddled it causing it to moan and said, “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow, that’s what our Grandmas told us.” </p><p>Faith thought it over, ‘Auntie Rose seemed to be happy too and I know Santa wasn’t coming for at least a couple of weeks, at least school was out for a bit.’ She liked it but not that much; Andrew was the one who liked it. </p><p>She cuddled the dog and decided it was time for bed, they were told their surprise would be here tomorrow so that meant it would be nice tomorrow. </p><p>Andrew missed going to school as he had made some really nice friends there, now that Nick had finally accepted him and Faith but he had a thought it had to do with those lessons Grandma Sophia had taught him and Faith and the lessons Grandma Blanche had signed him up for. </p><p>The next morning Andrew woke up to his kitten trying to nibble on his big toe, he moaned, “Maria, no biting.” </p><p>Faith held her puppy close to her and said, “She’s hungry, remember? Auntie Rose said we have to feed them.” </p><p>He nodded and walked out holding his kitten under his arm, he was still sleepy until he went to the pet dishes and Andrew yelled, “Faith, your dog’s been eating Maria’s food again.” </p><p>She looked at the small Rottweiler and said, “No, bad Spot, leave the kitten’s food alone,” causing it to let out a whine of apology and she patted him on his head. </p><p>Andrew poured out some kibble for both of them and thought, ‘Maybe a bigger dish for Spot so he wouldn’t eat the cat’s food?’ He patted Maria’s head causing her to bump her head against his palm and lick his hand and he sighed, he wanted to go back to bed when he saw Grandma Blanche smile at him. </p><p>“Hello Sugar,” Blanche said, “You’re up early?” </p><p>“Maria was hungry,” Andrew said, “And she woke me up to feed her.” </p><p>“Oh, bad kitty,” Blanche said to the kitten devouring its food and the milk Andrew put out for her, “But now Andrew, you and Faith probably didn’t get a lick of sleep last night, am I right?” </p><p>“No,” Andrew said, “We got to sleep.” </p><p>“Well, your surprise is out in the living room, they just got here last night after you went to sleep,” Blanche said as Andrew ran out. </p><p>Andrew screamed, “Faith, get out here, Graham and Riley are here.”</p><p>Faith woke up and ran outside and saw Riley sitting with Graham. </p><p>Riley smiled hi Faith Grandma wanted us to spend Christmas here with you guys this year </p><p>She smiled as Spot came out behind her and let out a little snarl at the two new boys, Riley’s eyes lit upon seeing the puppy and he rushed over and went to start to pet it. </p><p>Spot whimpered a bit but quickly warmed up to Riley’s frantic petting though Faith pulled him away from Riley and said, “He doesn’t like being petted that much.” </p><p>“Awww,” Riley moaned, “I just wanted to pet it.” </p><p>Graham looked at Andrew and waved a bit while Andrew gave a shy wave as he held Maria close to him. </p><p>“That’s a pretty kitten,” Graham said as he picked Maria up from Andrew’s grasp and he scratched her head, causing her to raise her head towards his fingers. </p><p>“Thank you,” Andrew said smiling, “Her name’s Maria, we got her and Spot a couple of weeks ago.” </p><p>Graham smiled at Andrew and said, “She’s cute.” </p><p>“Why aren’t you with your mommy?” Andrew asked, “Doesn’t she like Christmas?” </p><p>Graham looked down at his feet and he muttered, “Mommy’s not doing well so Riley’s family took me to stay with them, they said we’re like brothers and I might as well live with them.” </p><p>Andrew looked down at his feet and said, “Sorry, maybe she’ll be better soon.” </p><p>“Don’t know about that,” Graham muttered as he absently scratched Maria’s back, “Riley’s parents are trying to tell me that too but I’m not sure.”</p><p>Blanche heard what Graham said and walked over to Iris and said, “What is Graham’s story?”</p><p>“Oh, he doesn’t know but his mom has some sort of cancer but it not treatable anymore so Riley decided to keep Graham at his place, of course Ivy, my daughter, and her husband decided it was good. They wanted another child but after Riley they couldn’t so they were happy to take Graham in as Riley’s brother.” </p><p>“Oh,” Rose said shaking her head, “And near Christmas too, such a sad time to be alone.” </p><p>They looked a bit thoughtful for a moment and Iris said, “They took him in so he wouldn’t be alone and besides he’s a good influence on Riley or at least I think so.” </p><p>Andrew sat next to Graham and decided to show him around the place to try to cheer him up; Spot and Maria followed him, both curious. </p><p>As they walked Graham smiled at Andrew, he was lucky to have his grandmother and his friends here, though he wished almost that he could stay here but he knew that Riley and his family were going to be his new family. </p><p>“This is me and Faith’s room,” Andrew said as he pulled Graham in. </p><p>Graham looked at the small room and saw two beds, Andrew smiled, “I think you’ll be staying with us, I know Riley’s gonna stay in here.” </p><p>“Better watch it,” Graham snickered, “Riley might want your bed for himself, he won’t like sleeping on the couch or the floor.”</p><p>Andrew giggled and Graham suddenly hugged him, “I missed you Andrew, you’re like my best friend after Riley.” </p><p>As Graham left Andrew was a bit curious about the hug, he liked hugs but he was only used to getting hugs from his grandma and sister but not from a boy but Graham was his friend. He wondered if it was alright to get hugs from a boy, he would ask his grandma later. </p><p>He walked out and saw Graham and Riley playing with the puppy and his kitten, Andrew noted that Graham was gentle with the animals while Riley kept trying to pull on Maria’s tail gently but the kitten was getting upset. </p><p>Andrew walked over and took Maria in his arms and said, “She doesn’t like being picked up that much, except by me or Faith.” </p><p>Riley made a face and said, “Cats are girl pets anyways, boys should have puppies. I wish I had a puppy like Spot, a boy’s dog not a little cat.” </p><p>Maria hissed a bit at Riley before looking away from him and licked Andrew who stroked her as he put her down. </p><p>“I don’t mind cats Riley,” Graham mumbled, “Maria’s a pretty cat at least.” </p><p>Riley sighed, “Yes she is, I guess. But Andrew should have a puppy.” </p><p>Faith sighed, she was glad her brother wasn’t like Riley or else she’d have gone weird a long time ago.</p><p> </p><p>TBC </p><p> </p><p>What do you think of Andrew and Faith taking self defence courses early on? What do you think of their pets?</p><p>Tomorrow I will finish their first Christmas there and then start on their teenage years.</p><p> </p><p>Please rate and review</p>
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